Tomb of Dai Biaoyuan

Tomb of Dai Biaoyuan

The Tomb of Dai Biaoyuan is a cultural relic protection unit of Fenghua District.

The Tomb of Dai Biaoyuan is located at the southern foot of Sanshi Mountain in Yantou Village, Xikou Town, Fenghua City. In February 1987, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit in the third batch by the People’s Government of Fenghua City.

Dai Biaoyuan (1244–1310) was a literary figure of the Yuan Dynasty. His courtesy names were Shuaichu and Zengbo, and he was a native of Yulin, Fenghua. During the Xianchun era of the Southern Song Dynasty, he ranked tenth among the successful candidates in the imperial examination and was appointed by the court as a professor in Jiankang Prefecture (present-day Nanjing). However, his good fortune did not last long—soon after, the Southern Song Dynasty fell. He returned to his hometown, where he engaged in sericulture and farming to make a living, while continuing to devote himself tirelessly to literary creation. In the eighth year of the Yuandade era (1304), the court appointed him as a professor in Xinzhou, Jiangxi. After completing his term, he was transferred to serve as a professor in Wuzhou. Due to failing health, he returned to his hometown and passed away not long after.

Moved by the decline of literature in the late Song Dynasty, Dai Biaoyuan took it upon himself to revive literary excellence. His writings were fresh, elegant, and refined, gradually gaining widespread influence. Scholars from all regions sought to learn from him, and he became the foremost literary figure in the southeast during the Yuandade and Dade eras, earning the title “Confucius of the South.” Song Lian held him in particularly high esteem among Yuan writers. Some of his works were published in the early Ming Dynasty by the Historiographical Office in a 28-volume collection titled *Shanyuan Ji*. The Qing Dynasty’s *Complete Library of the Four Treasuries* also includes selected works. The existing *Shanyuan Ji* consists of 30 volumes.

His tomb is situated at the southern foot of Sanshi Mountain, with a diameter of 3.40 meters and a height of 1.60 meters. The horizontal tombstone is inscribed with “Tomb of Master Dai of Shanyuan,” and the upper inscription reads “11th Month, 1st Day, Year Xinha of the Zhi Da Era.” On either side are stone carvings of column-like posts connected to drum-shaped stones. This tomb, nearly seven hundred years old, remains well-preserved to this day.